Touch N' Go

It will soon be much closer than this at the start.

Full Moon crew Randy “Pleasure Point” Olsen, Michael “Cabin Boy” Medina, Anne “Birthday Girl” Gustavson, Daniel “Seizure Story” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Shhhhh” Mengedoht set up for a starboard tack start like most of the fleet for the Band Night Duck Dodge. This was complicated by a boat that was essentially stalled and very much in the way of a lot of boats. Then Necessary Evil (Catalina 30) pushed up from leeward, making side to side contact several times with Full Moon, which had been dealing with another boat to windward. I could drone on about rules, but an essential one is that hitting another boat is not okay if it can be avoided… Thankfully, there was no damage.

Boys on the Boat - Daniel, Randy, and Michael.

Full Moon did eventually pull clear to windward and gained sufficient room to tack in front of a Harbor 20. Things were then looking very good, with only Tailwind (Capri 25) apparently in front but a J22 and Makima (Thunderbird) were on a tighter line to the freeway buoy and Full Moon rounded in fourth.

The boats behind will soon be much farther behind!

It was a straight shot to the Aurora buoy. Once around, it took a minute or two for a gybe set but then it was onto the reach/run to the AGC buoy with the Equalizer. Full Moon gained a bit on the leaders and quite a bit on the boats behind, but it wasn’t enough to change positions. With a clean drop at the buoy, Full Moon headed upwind for the finish to place fourth.

Avast There!

Full Moon approaches the line on port tack.

The forecast for the Pirate Night Duck Dodge was for another light wind drifter but we were blessed with fairly robust wind out of the south. Full Moon crew Michael “Halyards” Medina, Ben “Takedown” Spicer, Daniel “Pointy End” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Long Tack First” Mengedoht ended up approaching the starting line on port tack and had to duck a Buchan 37 before tacking to cross the line in fifth place. The Buchan proved to be in the way, behind and just to leeward, for much of the first leg until there was finally room to tack westward. Ducking Rajun Cajun (J24) wasn’t too painful but then Honey Bee (Ranger 26) plugged the works with no steerage right at the AGC buoy.

Full Moon has ducked and tacked behind the Buchan 37, still a decent start.

Once around, Full Moon headed northeast with the genoa before gybing and hoisting the Equalizer, which kept Full Moon in the hunt on the long leg north. Tacking after rounding the Freeway buoy placed Full Moon in the center of the lake for the best wind. Unfortunately, the Buchan had reappeared behind and to leeward, once again preventing a desired tack. In the end Full Moon had to duck behind the Buchan and finished fifth, just ahead of Honey Bee.

August Drifter #2

Full Moon (far right) chasing the leaders.

The Wrestling Night Duck Dodge featured extremely light wind with apparently random shifts. Full Moon crew Randy “Stay in the Middle” Olsen, Rob “Jib Sheets” Lane, Logan “Fancy Knots” Pulsifer, Daniel “Low Pole” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Giant Jib” Mengedoht set up for a starboard tack start near the pin end of the line but were a bit late on timing (skipper error), crossing ahead of a few port tack boats but behind six other boats. The good news, if any, is that the first tack resulted in a course directly to the Freeway buoy once all the wind shifts were through.

Parking lot at the AGC buoy.

With no Aurora buoy (shortened course), the Equalizer was hoisted for the long leg south, but the wind had shifted from a northerly to a west to southwest direction, resulting in flying the symmetrical chute more like a badly cut genoa. The wind held for much of the leg but faded out near the AGC buoy. This allowed Full Moon to catch up with boats ahead until running into the same dead air, while also allowing boats from behind to catch up.

Full Moon (top right) heading for the finish. Some boats are still heading to the AGC buoy.

Rounding the AGC buoy was slow and painful, and the wind remained extremely light and confused. Some boats were able to eventually do well with spinnakers, but it wasn’t worth the effort to repack the Equalizer. In the end, Full Moon finished about sixth in second start, not bad at all given the conditions.

The Lady Washington was out and ended up at Full Moon's marina! Let's hope they're around for Pirate Night.

Rockin' The Pink

Full Moon crosses the start line near the front of the pack.

Full Moon crew Michael “Left” Medina, Daniel “Right” Mengedoht, Marcelle “Great Grapes” van Houten, Anne “Layers” Gustavson, and skipper John “Shifty” Mengedoht enjoyed a decent start in extremely light wind for the Pink Boat Duck Dodge. Staying to windward of most boats helped on the first leg and Full Moon rounded the Freeway buoy in first place, already mixing it up with boats from earlier starts.

Full Moon on the first leg. Lots of boats behind!

The Aurora buoy was set far to the west, making for a long and painful leg as the wind remained light to nonexistent. Things were not improved when the old ferry/party boat Trek opted to cruise through the fleet hailing loudly about boats in “the shipping lanes” needing to get out of the way. Unlike Puget Sound, there are no shipping lanes on Lake Union, and it isn’t like sailboats ghosting along in light wind can suddenly scamper out of the way. Meanwhile, Trek is reasonably maneuverable, clearly saw the sailboats ahead, and could have picked a course around the sailboats to the north instead of through them.

Full Moon about to round the Freeway buoy with lots of second start boats.

Anyway, once around the Aurora buoy, the Equalizer was set for the long reaching leg southward. Amazingly, the wind was sufficient to keep the nylon monster flying. After a clean drop at the AGC, it was on to the final upwind leg in gathering darkness. Approaching the finish line, the Race Committee announced a 9 PM time limit. With some vigorous kinetics (and some minor clock fudging by the Committee), Full Moon was awarded the Gold Duck for first place.

Adding the Gold Duck sticker to the mast in the dark.

Recovery for the Bronze

Full Moon heads toward the Aurora buoy. Most of the boats ahead will soon be behind!

Full Moon crew Randy “Popcorn” Olsen, Daniel “Soundtrack” Mengedoht, Robert “Solo Cup” Leykam, and skipper John “Relaxed” Mengedoht were late to the starting line for the Olympics Duck Dodge, crossing the line near the back of the fleet. The Race Committee unusually chose a downwind start, the wind having shifted from the southwest to nearly due south. With a relatively short first leg and anticipating a reach instead of a run, Full Moon opted not to use a spinnaker and, amazingly, managed to use clear air to claw past nearly half the boats ahead before rounding the Freeway buoy.

Full Moon about to round the AGC buoy. The T-bird will be passed on the final leg.

Full Moon had good speed on the close reach past Gasworks, but the wind dropped to nearly nothing heading to the Aurora buoy and a group of boats converged. Then, with a (relatively) wide gap between other boats and the buoy and nobody hardening up their course, Full Moon easily slipped inside and around for another large gain.

Daniel tests the Bronze Medal for third place.

The long upwind leg south featured different wind directions on different parts of the course and Full Moon was able to enjoy a long stretch pointing nearly straight down the lake, gaining significantly on boats farther east. This good fortune wouldn’t last, though, as conditions became very shifty and lighter approaching the AGC buoy and multiple tacks were needed to get around.

The skipper adds to the 2024 Duck Collection.

The Equalizer was put to good use for the final leg, the course being directly downwind. Much to our amazement, a horn sounded as Full Moon crossed the finish line – Full Moon had taken third place for the Bronze Duck!

Tropical Silver

Full Moon (top center) heads up the Eastlake shore just after the start. TaTonka (yellow boat) and SYC 2 are briefly in the lead.

Full Moon crew Randy “Halyards” Olsen, Daniel “Hold My Beer” Mengedoht, Chad “Gift To Neptune” Harnish, Logan “Late Substitution” Pulsifer, and skipper John “Slow Start” Mengedoht returned to third start for the Tropical Night Duck Dodge. With the pin end favored, Full Moon again went with a starboard tack start, just behind eventual winner Raptor (T-bird) before tacking a bit early to head up the Eastlake shore.

Raptor leads Full Moon around the AGC buoy.

Starting on port tack with at full speed initially favored TaTonka (SJ24) and SYC 2 (J22) but they both lost ground on the upwind leg as Raptor pulled into the lead with Full Moon second. A slow moving second-start boat created a tacking challenge for Full Moon at the Freeway buoy, giving Raptor a greater lead and allowing TaTonka to nearly catch up.

Daniel and Chad scoring beers from the floating "island."

The order remained for the second leg, though Full Moon gained a bit. The Equalizer provided its usual magic on the long reach south to the AGC buoy, Full Moon gaining a lot on Raptor while leaving TaTonka far behind.

It was yet another sunny but breezy evening!

The next short leg was free of other traffic and Full Moon was able to score quite a few (partial) cups of beer buzzing by the floating tropical “island.” The final leg was a straight shot upwind where Full Moon received the horn for second place and another Silver Duck for the mast.

Adding the Silver Duck to the collection on the mast.

Beating Leo Kai

Full Moon crew Randy “Movies” Olsen, Anne “Muscles” Gustavson, Daniel “Hazardous Conditions” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Trim!” Mengedoht went in second start for the Christmas in July Duck Dodge to complete our atonement for three top-three finishes in third start. With a starting line favoring a starboard tack approach, Full Moon was well-positioned but a little too early and had to run the line, losing distance to boats that nailed the buoy-end start. Worse, Mr. Nibbles (Ultimate 20) was close to windward, preventing an earlier tack that would have helped (both of us!). Still, there were quite a few boats behind, including the giant (40’+) Beneteau Leo Kai.

A gaggle of little Hobies joins the Duck Dodge.

The first leg was a tight reach and Full Moon rounded the Freeway buoy in close company with a few other boats. On the second leg past Gasworks, Full Moon made some strategic gains on small boats but not on the large ones, which had an advantage in the relatively strong breeze.

Full Moon is on the left on approach to the AGC buoy.

Leo Kai had caught up by the Aurora buoy and provided a massive wind shadow until Full Moon could escape eastward with the Equalizer. Full Moon passed a few boats on the southbound leg, including Leo Kai, which favored the Westlake shore. A conservative spinnaker drop allowed a J-22 to barely sneak inside at the AGC buoy, Full Moon working to avoid them as well as some drifting power boats hanging out by the buoy.

The J22 sneaks inside with spinnaker still flying. Leo Kai takes up the rear.

On the upwind fourth leg, Leo Kai came romping by and speedy Runaway (Norlin 34) finally caught Full Moon at the Freeway buoy (there are two laps in second start). The rest of the second lap was similar to the first except that Full Moon managed to vanquish Leo Kai at the finish line, coming across about seventh. It was a beautiful evening on the lake and nice to escape the heat with the solid breeze.

Covidians

Being shorthanded already and with ace foredeck crew Daniel "Positive" Mengedoht out with COVID, Full Moon elected to sit out the Anything But Clothing Duck Dodge. Assuming the skipper stays healthy, we'll be back next week!

Big Shrimp!

Full Moon crew Randy “Dry Spot” Olsen, Daniel “Bonk” Mengedoht, and skipper John “The Shrimper” Mengedoht were “promoted” to second start for the Red, White and Blue Duck Dodge. Crossing the line nearly on time but not up to full speed, Full Moon was about seventh up the first leg to the Freeway buoy, which was set a bit farther north than usual. After rounding, Full Moon mixed it up on the second leg with Bad X-Ample (X-Yachts 342) while making gains on the relative giant Beneteau Leo Kai.

Full Moon was fourth across the start line, not counting Rajun Cajun and the Kettenburg, which were both over early.

With the pole set low and nearly on the forestay, the Equalizer paid dividends on the long beam reach south with Full Moon eventually passing Leo Kai and gaining a lot on the lead boats. Unfortunately, bringing down the Equalizer proved challenging with a small crew and a lot of it ended up in the water and slowing Full Moon, though it was retrieved before a nice rounding at the AGC buoy.

Full Moon (blue, black and white spinnaker) works past Leo Kai while gaining on the leaders.

By this point, Full Moon was fifth behind Touch of Grey, Rawhide (J22), Honey Bee (Ranger 26), and Rajun Cajun (J24) and that proved to be the finishing order. Other than Touch of Grey, second start seems like reasonable competition for Full Moon. I guess we’ll find out more next week!

Invisible Buoy

The fire boat Chief Seattle greeted the Duck Dodge fleet.

The Pride Night Duck Dodge featured decent wind and sunny skies. Full Moon crew Michael “Historic” Medina, Daniel “Gordian Knot” Mengedoht, Anne “Dry Drop” Gustavson, and skipper John “Legendary” Mengedoht set up for the favored port tack start as starboard tack would barely cross the line. Unfortunately, several boats opted for starboard tack anyway and Full Moon had to duck a few then tack as well. When the dust settled, Full Moon was about eighth, though several positions were regained on the upwind leg.

Chasing down other boats with the Equalizer.

After rounding the Freeway buoy, Full Moon suffered in the wind shadow of a large Catalina until finally crawling a bit to windward at Gasworks. A few more boats were picked off on this leg, which ended in confusion as nobody could find the Aurora buoy!

Full Moon chases down Tailwind.

Heading south, the Equalizer was quickly launched to good advantage, Full Moon passing another boat or two including a T-bird and, nearing the AGC buoy, the speedy Capri 25 Tailwind. While the spinnaker came down cleanly, the pole ended up fouling the jib sheets and both Tailwind and the T-bird passed by during the untangling. Once detangled, Full Moon caught the T-bird again and gained on Tailwind but not enough. Much to our surprise, though, Tailwind got the horn for first place with Full Moon second for the silver duck! Looks like we’ll be in second start for the next few races…

T-bird and Tailwind chasing Full Moon with flogging jib.

Vertigo!

Full Moon (middle left) heads into the lead just after the start.

Full Moon skipped 70s Night due to a blown-out water pump impeller. Returning to action with the outboard repaired, skipper John “BPPV” Mengedoht was suffering from vertigo (inner ear issue) but crew Randy “Vertigo Knot” Olson, Daniel “Vertigo Pole” Mengedoht, and Chad “Becalmer” Harnish helped Full Moon enjoy an excellent start for the Mardi Gras Duck Dodge, leading the fleet to the Freeway buoy. The Harbor 20 Scamp was close behind, though, and chose a better course on the second leg to round the Aurora buoy ahead.

Dizzy skipper enjoying the lead on the first leg. Lotsa boats behind!

The Equalizer was quickly launched and, once clear of a much bigger (second start) boat, Full Moon headed off on the (mostly) beam reach south, passing several second start boats. Scamp, meanwhile, had headed more for the middle of the lake, finding better wind about halfway down the leg, and was able to hold their lead at the AGC buoy.

Adding the silver duck sticker to the mast.

Full Moon gained on the final upwind leg but couldn’t quite catch Scamp. In the end Full Moon second for the silver duck – an excellent result. Third-place went to the Ranger 26 Honey Bee, which was considerably farther behind.

Predictably Unpredictable

Full Moon skipped Movie Night due to the forecast, though it turned out to be a decent evening. Bummer!

Skipper is multitasking while the Foredeck crew checks the Mariners score.

Wind at the dock prior to the Commodore’s Ball Duck Dodge was solid out of the west-southwest but had faded to next to nothing by the start. Full Moon was well positioned for the start until forced to go around a boat completely stalled on port tack. The first leg to the AGC buoy was then painful in the very light air, a late shift adding a couple of tacks before rounding.

Isn't the pole supposed to be on this side?

The pole was preset assuming the forecast southwest wind would continue but it was not to be as the wind had clocked around to the southeast (!), though it was at least filling in. So Full Moon broad-reached on starboard tack for a good portion of the leg before finally gybing and launching the Equalizer. Even then a wind shift forced a gybe back, though we continued with the pole on the “wrong” side until the wind shifted back again.

The sun attempts to poke through. It wasn't warm but not freezing either.

The take-down went smoothly at the Freeway buoy and it was then a straight shot in a building breeze to the Aurora buoy, which was set further south than usual and closer to the Westlake shore. The final leg was upwind but only required a few tacks and Full Moon finished eighth, not bad given the poor first leg and lack of spinnaker for so much of the second leg.

Skipper's Choice

The third Duck Dodge these was Skipper's Choice and, given the forecast, Full Moon's skipper chose not to race! Based on weather radar at 6:40 PM, this was wise, though apparently the rain stopped before the first start.

Space Cadet

The Equalizer (masthead spinnaker) was nicely packed but forgotten at home by skipper John “Space Cadet” Mengedoht. Adding insult to injury, the skipper managed to position Full Moon poorly for the start of the “Onesie” Duck Dodge, crossing the line about 17^th. Fortunately, crew Randy “Chips” Olsen, Daniel “Trunk Monkey” Mengedoht, and Rob “Pack Up and Go” Lane were more adept and Full Moon began slowly picking off the competition on the first upwind leg to the Freeway buoy.

Full Moon continued to gain on the leg to the Aurora buoy. After rounding, the standard spinnaker was hoisted but the skipper had set things up to use the masthead (wrong) halyard, the result being a relatively small spinnaker high above the deck with the pole angled skyward. This still worked but Full Moon struggled to escape from being stuck in bad air with a boat to either side for half the leg.

That yellow and orange spinnaker looks funny....

Regardless, Full Moon managed to advance to seventh place just before the AGC buoy. Unfortunately, the jib sheet hung up during the jibe at the buoy and a T-bird got past during the chaos. The final leg was a tight reach in gusty conditions. A sleek old Kettenburg (Sommerfugl) managed to get by to windward and Full Moon dropped back to ninth, still remarkable given the start.

Silver to Start

Nice way to start the season!

Full Moon crew Randy “Rusty” Olsen, Daniel “Long Drink” Mengedoht, and skipper John “Lucky” Mengedoht enjoyed an excellent start for the first Duck Dodge of 2024, leading the fleet until the speedy Ultimate 20 Mr. Nibbles slid past. (Mr. Nibbles continued on to an easy win.) A white T-bird (Makima?) also got past on the way to the Freeway buoy, dropping Full Moon to third.

Full Moon and Tailwind after finishing.

The second leg was largely strategic, trying to go where the light breeze was stronger while playing the shifts upwind. Full Moon passed the tail end of the second start fleet and managed to catch up to the T-bird but couldn’t quite cross on port tack and had to duck behind before rounding the Aurora buoy.

Full Moon enjoying the sunset after the race.

Once around, the Equalizer was deployed, at first wanting to collapse in the light air. Then the wind began to fill in and shift forward and Full Moon soon left the bulk of the fleet behind, including the T-bird. We also were slowly gaining on more second start boats, including the Choate 27 Gift Horse.

It wasn't that warm but it was a beautiful evening!

With just three aboard, the spinnaker drop was started a bit early, but it went well, the pole properly stowed just before rounding the AGC buoy. Then it was a straight shot close reach to the finish line with Full Moon taking second place for the silver duck. The Capri 25 Tailwind wasn’t too far behind to take third.